Posted on 12/10/2004 5:13:28 AM PST by NCjim
A man who either fell or jumped off the roof of his moving Mercedes-Benz in Scottsdale has been identified as an acclaimed chief financial officer for Phoenix whose struggles with a parasite might have caused his behavior Wednesday. Kevin Keogh, 55, died about 3 p.m. after he climbed onto the roof of the car he was driving east on Camelback Road with arms outstretched, similar to actor Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie “Titanic.”
Police haven't determined if the death was suicide or accidental, Scottsdale detective Sam Bailey said.
Keogh contracted the illness a couple of years ago while on vacation in Mexico and his wife, Karlene, told city officials "she believes the parasite impaired his frontal lobe inhibition, said Toni Maccarone, a Phoenix spokeswoman.
The specifics of Keogh's illness were unavailable, but he had been receiving treatment, city officials said.
Will Humble, bureau chief for disease control for the Arizona Department of Health Services, said that in general, tapeworms can invade brain tissue and cause brain damage. People can get tapeworms from eating undercooked pork in Mexico or pig feces on vegetables, he said.
"Usually, it's someone who’s from Mexico who comes up here as a migrant or someone who is binational that goes back and forth a lot. Very seldom is it a tourist who goes shopping and has a street taco or something," Humble said.
The worms have long incubation periods, ranging from weeks to 10 years, he said.
Autopsy results won't be available for a couple of months, Bailey said. Keogh, who had worked for Phoenix since 1976, made $164,000 a year and supervised 300 employees and part of the city’s $1 billion budget, Maccarone said.
“There is nothing we can do to replace Kevin,” City Manager Frank Fairbanks said at a news conference. “Kevin was more than a professional; he was a person.”
Bailey was not aware of any notes or documents Keogh left behind.
Witnesses told police the car was going about 40 mph when he got on the roof. Wednesday, police said the car was traveling 50 mph.
Police found his body on a sidewalk near 68th Street and Camelback Road, about 300 yards from where his car crashed into another, Bailey said.
Outside of work, he was known to be a patron of the arts and for his work with charities.
Keogh and his wife started the Arnold Keogh Health Foundation, which provided health insurance to mostly working-class women and their children.
“Kevin is very, very community minded," said Phoenix Vice Mayor Peggy Bilsten. “It’s sad for me for a number of reasons. They were a beautiful, beautiful couple, just a great example of what a good couple should be."
Bilsten is a member of the foundation board and a friend who had worked with Keogh for 10 years.
Keogh was reserved and noted for his sense of humor, co-workers said. He had no children.
"He made Phoenix a better place to live," Fairbanks said.
City and State magazine named Keogh one of the top 11 financial innovators in the country in 1993. The magazine selected Keogh the best finance director in the nation in 1987.
He held a bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science from Iona College in New York and a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University.
Jeff DeWitt, the assistant finance director, will serve as the interim chief financial officer, Maccarone said.
“He’s probably one of most intelligent, very professional, very, very good finance directors. I learned a great deal from him in 10 years," said DeWitt, who called Keogh his mentor and worked with him daily.
Kevin Randolph, 25, a counselor intern at Brophy College Preparatory School who lives in Phoenix, suffered minor injuries after Keogh’s car plowed into the back of his 2000 Plymouth Neon.
He recalled thinking, "I've been hit, but there’s nobody in the car.” Randolph was stopped at a red light waiting for a man to cross Camelback on a bicycle.
The man later told Randolph he was grateful Randolph's car blocked him from the runaway Mercedes.
LOL--you're too funny!
Yes hehe true. Aside from tacos...btw didn't a Mexican man get arrested for grinding up dead bodies in his tamales?
pingaling
Hmmmm, the solution I'm familier with involved 6 hard boiled eggs, 5 lemon cookies and a ball peen hammer.
Tastes like chicken...
[;-D
My point. A billion is a lot of garbage pickup. However, salaries at $164k for city workers indicate that someone is getting a good ride out or the taxpayers. Atlanta is even worse - has about twice the number of city workers as DC for about the same size city.
Ugh. Thanks for clearing that up.
Women used to intentionally take tapeworm pills to lose weight.
What about commercial farms?
I'm now worried about the rare steak I ate yesterday.
Can you get it from bacon? I like my bacon juicier than others.
I think this is probably when pig manure is used to
fertilize fields where vegetables are grown. - Gee,
this may also tweak us to consider really washing
vegetables and fruits which might be imported from
Mexico and other places. - Dadgum, in some places they
used to use human feces as fertilizer and that can also
harbor parasites.
Folks, we just simply need to wash our food real good
for starters.
Well forget that Honey Baked Ham I was considering for Christmas.
Come on, I'm waiting for the question so I can finish the joke...
Ah, no. It is from the The Wall.
It's from Pink Floyd on "The Wall" cd...I can't remember the name of the song though.
Notice the last word in my sentence?
"The evidence before the court is incontravertible. There’s no need for the jury to retire."
BZZZZzzzt! The line is from "Hey You" from The Wall. I believe the worm reference started showing up in their lyrics before The Wall, but I cannot remember the song that had it in it. Anyway, Brain Damage is not it.
Eewww!
dont be - commercial beef if largely free of the tapeworm
Can you get it from bacon? I like my bacon juicier than others.
most bacon is salt cured - but commercial pork is largely free from trichinae worm as well - time was you'd earn a sleepless night for eating a chop with a pink bone......nowadays - a chop with a tinge of pink juice is ok -
I would not eat private pork (sounds like a porn film) like this though
Aside, my great uncle died from ingesting rare lamb in Italy as a child - They only discovered the parasite at his postmortem - eighty years later
Soooo - whats for lunch?........spaghetti ?
interesting article
Now you are saying it is Rummy's fault!!!
Only if you buy your bacon from a private farmer that doesn't sell commercially. In point of fact, the US commercial farm industry is closely regulated (I have no personal experience with pig farming, but I have spent some time on dairy farms in the northeast). Trichinosis and cystericosis are not found here because they are looked for...Oscar Meyer or other commercial brands should pose no threat, but cook your pork well, anyway!
And steak? No problem...the only beef problem we've had here is due to E. coli in hamburger. Cook them medium well, but continue to enjoy your steaks rare.
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